Described as “sexy and decadent” by Grace Dent in The Guardian, could two words be better used to describe not only London’s iconic curve appeal but one of the city’s most exciting openings of late, Sessions Arts Club. Emerging onto the scene in September 2021 and as if a rising phoenix from the drudgery of late, this spectacular new venue alighted London’s hospitality scene with full force to prove it’s well beyond the hype to stand as a prominent go-to restaurant when in town.
Positioned in Clerkenwell, Sessions Arts Club is regarded an urban sanctuary within one of London’s most beguiling and historical districts growing evermore hedonistic. Housed within an old judges’ original dining room at Sessions House, the grand Grade II* listed building is a sight in itself to behold accessed by an unmarked red door off a side street. Rich in history, Old Sessions House notably featured in the works of Charles Dickens’ novel Oliver Twist in 1833 to undoubtedly influence it’s current-day brand identity, reimagined by SODA.
Today the venue – a restaurant, bar, art and performance space, built on a studio ethos that shifts with the seasons via its curated collective program – is led by a forceful creative collective including chef Florence Knight (formerly Polpetto), restaurateur Jon Spiteri (Caravel), artist Jonny Gent of Cabin Studio, architect Russell Potter of SODA, and brothers Ted and Oliver Grebelius of Sätila Studios to ensure Sessions Arts Club as one of their most-powerful passion projects to date.
With an expansive dining room double in height, the space is an ethereal dream with distressed, salmon-and bottle-green hued walls paired with ornate golden detail washing a romantic charm across the venue. Furnishings and fittings were duly sourced by the founding team from various markets and salvage yards throughout the restaurant’s decade in the making to allow enticing nooks and intimate corners for performances and artistic presentations.
Three terraces surrounded the main room complemented by curvaceous ceilings and padded banquettes that hug the upper-floor tables creating a heightened sense of intimacy and discretion. Table settings are kept minimal throughout with traditional white clothed-tables and candlesticks in antique holders gracing the floor. There’s also rooftop bar and garden offering the sleekest sun trap, immediately transporting diners to an Italianate villa in the height of Europe’s summer.
Diners can savour the sensual in art, food, and wine with an eclectic, ever-changing food menu inspired by seasonality and the highest-quality produce. Stand-out favourites from our recent visits included eel paired with rocket, crème fraîche and roe, squid with tomato and calamarata and a devestatingly-good blood orange sorbet. Washed down with an extensive wine list that’ll hook you even further, get ready to be entranced by the seductive powers of this wonderland.
Sessions Arts Club, 24 Clerkenwell Green, Farringdon, EC1
sessionsartsclub.com
